The Islanders know their first-round opponent.

The Hurricanes’ 6-4 victory over the Panthers on Thursday night kept Florida out of the top wild-card spot, so the Islanders will start the playoffs on Monday or Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C., against Carolina.

Since the other option — if the Panthers had won Thursday — was facing the record-setting Bruins, this was the best-case scenario for the Islanders, but it is still far from a simple task.

The Hurricanes finished the regular season atop the Metropolitan Division with a 52-21-9 record, and they defeated the Islanders in three of four games between the teams. The Islanders’ only victory came on Oct. 28, a 6-2 rout at Carolina. The Hurricanes won 3-0 and 5-2 in the two games at UBS Arena, and recorded a 2-1 victory on April 2 in Raleigh.

After the Islanders clinched a playoff spot with a win over the Canadiens in their final game of the regular season on Wednesday, the prevailing mood in the dressing room was that it didn’t matter who they played, the Bruins or the Hurricanes.

“We’ll just prepare for whoever we have to prepare for when we find out,” coach Lane Lambert said.

The coaching staff will have their work cut out for it against the battle-tested Hurricanes, who boast the NHL’s second-ranked defense in per-game goal prevention and have a deep, fast lineup capable of forechecking teams into oblivion.

As far as statistical disparities go, the biggest one heading into the best-of-seven series is likely the Islanders’ power play, which is ranked 31st in the league and will need to solve a Carolina penalty kill that finished the season behind only Boston in success rate.

At even strength, though, there are a few factors that could give the Islanders some confidence. Mainly, goaltender Ilya Sorokin’s sustained excellence in net, which could easily steal them a game or two.

There also is the reality of the situation in which the Islanders have found themselves for nearly the entire second half of the season, in which just about every game was a must-win in a playoff dogfight. The actual playoffs are still a different animal, but having had so much on the line recently should help, along with the fact that the physical and heavy style the Islanders prefer is fit for postseason hockey.

“I think it gives you a little bit of feel for where you’re heading and what it’s gonna be like,” Lambert said. “Certainly, it’s a new season. But I think it can pay dividends. We fought through a lot of adversity at different times this year.”

The biggest question for the Islanders regards the status of center Mathew Barzal, who has a suspected knee injury, and defenseman Alexander Romanov (upper-body injury), both of whom have been skating on their own while rehabbing.

If Barzal can return to play alongside Bo Horvat on the top line, and Romanov can come back into the top-four, it could completely change the dynamic of the series. The Islanders played just six full games with Barzal and Horvat together in the lineup this season.

Starting next week, it would be a good time for a seventh.